Jennifer Lopez Says Ben Affleck Was First Major Heartbreak

Jennifer Lopez refers to former fiance Ben Affleck as her first major heartbreak, following their split in early 2004. The 45-year-old gave details on the matter during a recent interview with the US Today show, in which she was promoting her new memoir True Love.

The singer/actress says that her feelings for Affleck were far more intense than anything she had been involved in previously, despite having already been married twice (to Ojani Noa from 1997-1998 and Cris Judd from 2001-2003.) After their engagement was broken off, she says that she was emotionally stunted and felt as though her world had fallen apart. While the two are said to remain on good terms now, Lopez recalls struggling to pick herself backup and move on with her life.

Her and Affleck met on the set of the infamous failed film Gigli, where they quickly began a romantic relationship and became engaged in 2002. Their relationship was widely considered by the public and the media as a joke, and the pair were subject to much ridicule during the time in which they were together. They called their wedding on the very day it was set to take place, saying that media interference made it impossible to go through with the nuptials, and therefore they were choosing to go their separate ways. While this is the statement that the pair have stuck with since the event occurred, various media outlets have suggested that there was a different reason behind Lopez and Affleck’s split.

Sources close to the the New York native say that it was her fiance’s behavior that essentially got the wedding called off, as Lopez was becoming increasingly unhappy with the man’s choice of venues in terms of where he went to blow off steam. He was reportedly paying regular visits to strip club and casinos, something that she felt was widely inappropriate since they were soon to be married. The sources say that she did her best to get him to settle down, something he was not interested in doing and the relationship subsequently fell apart. The final straw was said to have been related to a New Years Eve party that Lopez had been meticulously planning for months, one which Affleck was adamant he would not attend. She reportedly ended up cancelling the event rather than host it without her fiance, and the blowout that is said to have ensued over it broke their union for good.

In the aforementioned interview, Lopez attributes her crushing heartbreak as the reason why she jumped into a new relationship so soon after her and Affleck called off their wedding. Just one month later, she married close friend and fellow singer Marc Anthony, whom she had been tight with for years. The move was widely scrutinized, as the public accused her of rebounding when she was in no way ready for another intense relationship, something Lopez has admitted is somewhat true. She recalls Anthony as always having been there for her, and says he was her best friend in her time of grief. Marrying him seemed like the way to get better and heal from what had happened with Affleck, and she says she felt like he could be there for her and make her happy. The pair were married for seven years, with their divorce having just recently become final. They have two child together, twins named Max and Emme.

It remains to be seen how Ben Affleck feels regarding ex-fiancee Jennifer Lopez’s recent statement that he was her first real heartbreak. The actor has not yet given any statement on the matter, although he remains adamant that the two are still good friends.